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Hi Jay... my surgery scheduled for May 6 with Dr. R. will probably be pushed back, since I had an asthma flare, was put on steroids Thursday, and I got sicker Friday night and was sent by Urgent Care by ambulance to hospital to be admitted... fortunately the situation turned around and they let me go home early in the morning, then called me back in for a CT scan with contrast... which turned out NORMAL... but they want me to see a pulmonologist. So with my pre-op eval. scheduled for Tuesday at the Weiner Center, and visit with Dr. R. afterwards - I am quite sure everything is going to be pushed until a Pulmonologist will sign off on the Surgery, not to mention the weight gain from steroid caused fluid retention... and probably cannot stay strict pre-op when so sick... I am not going to let this get me down though... I just ordered a feather bed for the post-op need for fluffy-luv, and a bunch of low-glycemic vegetarian and vegan cookbooks from Amazon for my post-op reading, to prepare for post-mushy phases and a new lifestyle. :laugh: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Like many of you, I haven't checked in in a while myself. So HI again everyone! Congratulations to those who are doing soo great! Thats really awesome! keep it up! Those who are struggling, don't give up! It may be slow, but at least you are not gaining! Think about if you did not have the band, would you have lost any weight, gained any or stayed the same. I know I would have gained more. Personally, I am down 29 lbs. Of course it could be better but I am certainly not complaining. Its 29 lbs less then I would have been if I didn't get banded! Im finally seeing a difference too, in the mirror and in my cloths. And other people are noticing now too. It seems like up to 25 lbs, no one noticed, but now people are commenting. 29 down, 35 more to go! Oh and yeah... its been a with a lot of work to lose just this amount. Im not at full restriction either. I think I have 3 or 4 or 10cc. I go back to the doctor, after 2 months, on March 22. So I will request another fill and that should work better. And yes, exercise is included! But I do admit, I am not perfect, I do eat junk food sometimes, thats why I know I can't blame anything but myself and just be satisfied with what I allow for myself. Keep it up people! Don't give up! WE ARE WORTH IT!!

I am hypothyroid also and had surgery the same date as you. Yes, weight gain/stall is normal from what I've heard. I also got the added pleasure of having Aunt Flo visit on Friday. Plus feeling very bloated and constipated. Needless to say I've not wanted to feel dissapointed so havent weighed yet. My surgeon visit is Tuesday so will weigh in for my one week surgiversary. Keep us posted...we are all here to support each other Sent from my VS990 using the BariatricPal App

Hi April: Really glad to hear from you, the weight gain from taken Percocet was explained as a medication the could cause weight, I was at a pain management class in Roseville when I heard that and even questions the doctor about it and he conformed it would, so that is where that comes from. Today we had snow in Shingle Springs so it is very cold and very painful for those of us who have arthritis, so I stayed in all day. I will call on Monday to Richmond and see what I have to do next, I am sure the food intake is ok but the exercising is not what they are looking for, but I am hoping with time that will come, as you know that is why I am going through this is for knee replacements, and I have to be really careful went I walk even with the walker, my knee pops out on the left and locks up on the right because of bone spurs, but I still have high hopes. Have a great weekend, and stay well. Sincerely:redface: Judy

My problem is why did you tell him the truth about the ladies. Why did you not just say that you were worried about Water weight gain yourself..... or say that the ladies were worried about water weight....not that the women were worried about not losing or having a difficult time losing.... that just makes it harder on the rest of us... I am lucky I have lots of support at home but some others might not be as fortunate as you and the weight might be coming off very slowly. Some women that have diabetes or other health issues might be having a difficult time.... BUT it just sucks for me.... to walk in with my period being 6lb heavier and when I told him I had my period he gave me a weird look and after reading your post.... it clicked. Has anyone ever had experience with the other surgeons at SSF and what are they like.... My experience with DR. Le was not good, he was rude, rushed and a bit unprofessional. Please post your thought if you have seen any of the other SSF surgeons. Thanks!

As of Friday, I weigh in at 234, a 3 lb. weight gain from last week. Not happy!!! S 268/C 234/G 165-170 Surgery 4/14/09 1st fill 6/19/09 Next fill 8/4/09

Hello, I got sleeved 20th decmber 2012. according to my Doc weight gain means your eating to many carbs and/or not exercising enough. 80 lb is amaizing great job:) get protein in first then vegies, carbs last. have 3 meals a day with healthy snacks in between. calorie intake should be 600 to 800 calories a day when your at goal weight you should never exceed 1200 a day, unless you go below target weight. I got all this info from the book my doctor gave me. Good luck I wish you the best, shrug it off and start a new day you can do it

I decided I didn't want to keep my surgery a secret from my closest family but I also didn't want to have to keep explaining it over and over and I certainly didn't want to argue or debate with anyone (something my family is known for, including me! ) So I sent out an email in advance and the results have been great. No one argued or disagreed, at least, not to me. I received some well wishes before and after surgery. And while there may be questions when I see them over the holidays, my hope is that I've cleared up a few things in advance. Here's my email: Subject: Do you know what Lap Band Surgery is? (Warning: this is long!) It's a procedure in which an inflatable band is placed around the upper portion of your stomach. There is a tube attached that runs to a port that is placed just below the skin. Saline is injected into the port to inflate the band. The idea is to create a pouch of the stomach through which food initially passes. When this pouch is full, you feel full and so eat less. I am having this procedure on Thursday. I have researched it extensively and have visited the surgeon, a nutritionist, a psychologist, and my own family doctor. All have been supportive but I was especially pleased with my own doctor's opinion, since he has no affiliation with the others, though, coincidentally, he knows the psychologist. (She has a regular family counseling practice and does not work for the surgeon.) My doctor said that he has about half a dozen patients who have had the procedure and all of them are doing great. He was very positive about me doing this. Also, he performed all of my pre-op tests and I am in excellent health. I have about 70 pounds to lose. The Lap-Band will not cause me to lose it especially quickly. However, it should help me keep it off. You may recall that I lost 70 pounds four years ago, too. I fought to keep that weight off with continual dieting and exercise. Unfortunately, diets don't work, and 95 percent of people who lose weight will gain it back. People tend to be blamed (or blame themselves!) for this regain but there is more and more evidence that our bodies are programmed to regain this weight. I read a recent study with rats: two groups of rats were given the same amount of food. The rats who had previously lost weight GAINED while those that hadn't stayed their normal weight. Of course, those of us who have struggled with our weight for many years don't need these studies to convince us this is true! Here's what's going to happen to me: I go in for surgery at 7 a.m. at Austin Surgical Hospital. It's a laparoscopic procedure that should take no more than an hour. After I've recovered, I'll go home the same day and I'll go back to work Tuesday. For the first week or two, I will be on a diet of Clear liquids. Then I'll be on full liquids (anything that can go through a straw) for another couple of weeks. Then I'll be on soft foods (foods that can pretty much be swallowed without chewing) for a few weeks. Finally, I'll be able to start adding normal food. I will need to chew thoroughly and slow down the eating process. I will also not be drinking with my meals because liquid just pushes the food on through. Eventually, I'll be able to eat most foods but more slowly and in smaller quantities. The process is slow in order to allow my stomach to get used the band while I get used to learning to eat differently. After six weeks, I'll go in for my first adjustment, called a "fill." My surgeon is conservative about filling the band, one of the reasons I chose him. I want to take my time and adjust to each change. I am not in a hurry about losing the weight, especially knowing that this will be the last time! The perfect amount of restriction is being able to eat almost anything I want in small quantities without being hungry but still losing weight. While some people get exactly the right amount of restriction with no fill at all, it is more typical to get three or four fills, or more, several months apart. Also, as one loses weight, there is less pressure from fat on the outside of the band, so the band can loosen up, requiring a fill. The band can be unfilled a little or completely if I ever get too much restriction or have a medical reason for needing more food. Also, the band can be removed completely in a similar surgery and my stomach would return to normal. However, this is only done if there is a medical reason for it. It's considered permanent like a knee replacement or defibrillator. This is a big difference from gastric bypass surgery, which is a permanent reconstruction of the stomach and cannot be reversed. One of the best articles I read that summed up the procedure is an ABC news article about Khaliah Ali's book, "Fighting Weight." She is Mohammed Ali's daughter and she had the Lap-Band surgery. An excerpt from her book is in the article and she does a good job of summarizing: ABC News: Excerpt: Khaliah Ali's 'Fighting Weight' I have other links if you would like to learn more about it. Mr. Longhorn and the girls will be taking care of me after the surgery, though I shouldn't need much. The surgery is considered comparable to gall bladder surgery. I'll be up and walking a lot that weekend to get rid of the CO2 gas that the surgeon will pump into my body during surgery to create room to work. Many people have very little pain afterwards. I'm getting the latest version of the band, made by Allergan/Inamed. While complications have been rare, this band has improvements designed to address those complications. I'm sorry this is so long but that's why I decided to let y'all know in an email. I didn't want you to confuse what I'm doing with gastric bypass surgery. I also wanted you to know what to expect when we're together for meals in the future. And I didn't want to have to repeat this "lecture" over and over! :eek: Love, Longhorn Feel free to use any part of my email if you find it helpful.

Well... My understanding is that many of the products (like at GNC) that advertise they're for weight gain have lots of stuff other than Protein in them...like carbs, etc. I wouldn't use those. But some pure protein products are sold for weight gain, since they help to add muscle. The only real way I can think of to tell is to look at the nutrition label...how many calories/scoop or serving? Should be very little if it is just protein. What kind of ingredients are listed? For instance...Unjury powder is 90 calories per scoop, with 0 grams of fat, 3g total carbs, 20g of protein. Pro Gainer weigh gain supplement protein powder has 645 calories/serving, 7g of fat, 110g of carbs...

Wow! You are me ... or I am you ... or something ... At 15 months post I had a micro-discectomy on L4/5 as I had numbness in my right foot which was emanating up into my right leg. Due to the disc leakage and now removal of said disc leakage stuff, the space between the vertebrae had lessened to the point where now bone was pressing against the nerve and now I had numbness in my left foot. A laminectomy 3 months later was the solution. Prior to surgery, I had been an exercising machine. I would run ~30 miles a week and participated in many races even winning my age/division a few times. Then the numbness ... So, as you are experiencing, my activity basically went to nil. I mean nothing. Everything was painful as pretty much any and all motion goes through your core and well ... yeah ... not going to happen. Walking, sitting or standing was painful after a few minutes. 2 months post second surgery, I began physical therapy which was a slow process. I was somewhat compliant with my at home exercises, but it was difficult as it was painful, but I knew it was the only way I could get moving again. I was finally cleared for exercise 4 months after starting PT, but wasn't able to do what I wanted as it was too painful, so I stuck with the basics from PT hoping I would strengthen. About a month ago I was finally able to run more than one block without having to stop due to pain. I attribute this to doing elliptical as it is very low impact. I am now able to run a mile and a half at about an 8 minute per mile pace. I also do an hour of weight training about 5 times a week at the gym focusing on lower back and core strength. So ... what about eating? I had been at goal and maintaining for about 10 months when I stopped exercising. I quickly added 10 pounds as I did not change my eating habits, so I knew that I would have to change that. What I did was to get back to basics stringently. I ate Protein first, didn't drink with meals and chewed very well. I stopped eating before I was full and limited my "cheats". This halted my weight gain and I lost 5 of the 10 I had gained. Since getting back into exercise I have lost the other 5 pounds and have eased how stringent I follow the guidelines as I do understand that I need calories to maintain my current level of activity. So, that is what worked for me. Follow the guidelines closer until you can get back to being active. If you need to, track everything in MyFitnessPal. Just to let you know, my numbness has been reduced drastically, but I do still have a little, which I will probably have the rest of my life. It is by far tolerable compared to where I was, which was occasionally falling as I didn't get the feedback from my feet when walking. It takes time and did get worse before it got better. Good luck!

She wrote an article for Glamour. She definitely had bypass, not the band. But she had heart surgery in 2010 and her weight gain has been since that surgery. Maybe she's on steroids or other meds affecting her weight regain.

P.S. tomorrow will be one week without Pop. It hasn't been a problem. It is all the food and the continuous weight gain (ooops). My brain thinks that because I'm having surgery- I can eat what I want. Totally backwards I know- but it does. So this 6 month for insurance has really done nothing positive for me. Oh well

I tend to agree with Anna about the diet soda contributing to dehydration. I've noticed that since I switched from regular to diet soda to transition to my pre-op low carb diet, I've been going to the bathroom constantly. It's like all the fluid runs straight through me. Luckily, my body has responded by craving more water, so I've noticed that I'm drinking more of that along with the soda without having to force myself. But, I'm also a little headachey, so I'm going to try to add even more water and phase out the diet sodas. I've never been a diet soda drinker so the artificial sweetner is probably messing with me. But, hopefully I'll lose a few pounds and won't have to worry about my surgery being cancelled due to my eating fest and weight gain a few weeks ago.

All the check-ins sound great! I was sleeved 3 Sep 14 and down 21 lbs. Monday I actually showed a gain of a few lbs but was back down yesterday. Constipation is the worst but I keep chugging alone. This is usually my weight gain time th e hours are long & stressful at work because of year end so it is great to be losing right now. On soft foods but don't think I make them soft enough nor chewing fine enough, I get horrible pain when swallowing. It's a process & I'm in for the long haul.

CLOTHING! I have always been heavy but most of my weight gain is more recent. I really look forward to fitting into some of my old clothes. I have donated a lot of smaller things but there are quite a few pieces I kept. I also had to buy some bigger clothing throughout the year to hold me over. I can't wait to donate it all! And although it's always a struggle in the clothing stores, I can not wait for the day I no longer need to find the "plus size" section (or should I say the few racks shoved in the corner with no signage).

Ladies, For those of you who are really and truly "stuck" at a weight, and feel like you're already doing everything you can, I wonder if you've considered body fat testing? I think body compositions can very so much, and it may be that you're where you should be regardless of what the scale says. Those "extra" pounds may be muscle, or extra skin. I recently discovered there's a mobile service in my area that does submersion body fat testing, and the pricing's pretty good. I'm pretty tempted to give it a try at some point, just to satisfy my own curiosity about how I'm doing. I totally understand having a goal, and not wanting to give up on that goal, and my blessings and support go out to everyone that's working so hard to get to where they want to be, but I know for myself that I have a bad habit of getting more and more disciplined to reach a particular goal, and not being able to maintain that discipline long term. The last time I lost a lot of weight I started training for a 10.5 mile event (walk/jog for me, mostly walk). In order to build up the endurance for mileage I was doing 2+ hour workouts regularly. It simply wasn't something I could imagine keeping up indefinitely, though, and once the event was over the weight started to creep back on, sending me spinning into a downward spiral of weight gain >> depression >> more weight gain. I'm not saying this is an issue for anyone else, but I'm working hard to make sure that whatever I'm doing now is something I can honestly and truly contemplate doing for the forseeable future, because otherwise the weight it helps me lose isn't going to stay off. (And, as time goes on and my metabolism changes, I may have to get even more disciplined just to maintain!) I'd definitely still like to lose a few pounds, and I suspect they'd come off more quickly if I tightened things up a bit, but I remind myself that I've made HUGE progress, I look great, I should be really proud of what I HAVE achieved, and the most important thing is to continue to work on good, healthy habits I can stick with. If I take off a few more pounds in the process, that's just "icing on the cake" (if you'll forgive the expression!)

Weight gain is possible with ALL of the surgeries. The bypass has a 12-18 month honeymoon period, where the weight starts melting off. But after that, if the person doesn't "do the work", they can end up back where they started. And now with a rewired system, that doesn't function the way God intended. I think with the band, if someone is truly motivated, and in it for the long haul, they will have long term success. As bandsters, our work starts the minute we wake up from surgery. There is no free ride with this, which for me, is just fine. At some point they all become work, and I'm totally fine starting my work right out of the gate. Congrats on your great success with the band. THESE stories are the ones I come here for

I've learend to let what the bypass patient say go right through me, Time will tell, when the bypass patients are having health problems bypass related and are gaining their weight back because their pouches are stretched ..I get all the satisfaction I need For every person I have told about my band, they have all known someone who had the bypass and had some kind of problems whether it be malabsorption issues, weight gain, other major organ problems, they see me and I do not look like i had weight loss surgery, my skin tone is beautiful, I do not look gaunt, nor do I look flabby like bypass patients do. Iam my best advertisement for the band

Kickboxing is one of the best things you can do for weight loss, muscle building and strength. I've done it for a long time (before weight gain) and I loved it. I can't wait to get back to it! Sent from my SM-G920T using the BariatricPal App

Hi everyone! I'm popping back in with an update. Still no job for DH. He was supposed to hear from someone "by the end of the week," and ... nothing. That is just plain rude, if you ask me. So we have gone from four job possibilities on Monday to one long shot today. On a brighter note, Dr. Tran gave me a full 1 cc. last Thursday after seeing my weight gain. I'm at 8 cc. in a 10 cc. band, and finally have decent restriction. Finally!!! I'm definitely having to be a lot more careful, and eat a lot less, but I'm having no problems that would indicate an overfill. I'm still stress grazing, and I am trying to get that under better control, but at least I am nibbling on things like jerky, sugar snap peas, cherries, and the like. And the scale is gradually coming down. That helps me keep a better mindset. So, as I was saying to a friend in an even more stressful situation, we just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and take one day at a time and hope that things straighten out soon.

I didn't really set a goal either. I just decided to set one. I'm down to 180 now and thought, I should set one. I haven't been 180 in years (8 actually). after I had the twins, I lost the weight rather quickly. But the with the depression of losing one I gained and continued to. Back then I refused to get mental help. I'm so glad I am now. It has changed me for the better. I wished years ago I had started going. So that is weight gain story. Depression :-( it's a bugar and has bad side effects. Although one med they put me on I swear I gained so much weight within the 3 months I was on it. It actually took me to my highest weight ever, 271. I gained about 15lbs a month on it and I even gave up sugary products like Dr recommended but still had the horrible gain. I'm still getting only between 500-700 calories a day though. What about you Nicole? My Nut said it is fine for me. Gen :-) 12/15/12

I can relate, I've lost about 13lbs since Dec. But gained 3 back so now it's 10. And I have never been a sweet eater but I polished off a whole bag of robin eggs(malted milk balls) between sunday and monday. I guess I have that wanting to munch thing going on with the quitting smoking. I took ya'lls advice with the Chantix and it does make it much more bearable. It's more of a want then a need now. And I've never been good at not getting what I want, Spoiled yes but true never the less. I think I need a swift kick in the a** to get back on track, you'ld think that 3lb weight gain would have done it. __________________ Yum.........robin eggs.....I could polish off a bag every Easter, but I didn't eat any this year...........not eating them or PEEPS was a victory for me. Hang in there! You will get through this time. I go for a fill tomorrow. I have restriction, but it seems like when I am three weeks out from having a fill ....I need another one. I hope I reach a sweet spot this time.

..except she blames the PCOS for her weight gain. When she says later on that she makes some poor choices, we don't know if she means volume, or the type of food she's consuming, or something else. I knew I had to shut the program off last night and change the channel when I started talking back to the TV.

What I find amazing even when I gain a little weight after a vacation. It is still nothing compared to what I would of gained before the lapband. And it feels really good to lose the weight again and not feel bad because of the momentary weight gain. Now it is time to get back on track because I am so worth it. I met someone today that I have not met for a year and used to be alot thinner then me. Now that person is alot larger then me.

Uggg..gained 7 lbs on vacation. Down 3 lbs in the 3 days I have been home, so I am hoping by the end of the weekend I will be back where I was before I left! I am starting to panic about the whole "40% of your excess weight" and "50 lbs lost is the norm" generalizations. That is where I am now almost after only 4 months and I am not willing to let it be only this much. The weight gain on vacation really scared me. I know why I gained it - eating bread (for the first time since surgery) and ice cream twice. I KNOW BETTER. I keep repeating to myself "it's done, nothing you can do about it now, move on to today, it's a fresh start". I didn't get a fill at my last visit a week and a half ago because I was down 10 lbs., and getting stuck once a week or so. Now, I am thinking it is time...good thing I anticipated it and made my appointment for 3 weeks out. So I get to go next week and maybe get a .5 or 1cc fill. BTW...great job Jess - 100 pounds is AMAZING no matter how you slice it!!!!!